Piggi and Tipsey journal

[amyable]

What a great outcome, they were meant for each other.

Piggi must feel so happy now he has his own lady at last, and Boo doesn't have to compete with any others for his affections. I'm so happy for them.

You're going to feel such a heal boiling those eggs!! but won't they have fun making some more!!!!

Janet

[chriss80]

A few updates from the aviary life in pictures:


Boo's eggs have been replaced with kinder eggs, even though they look nothing like pigeon eggs she is happy to sit on them lol.


This is the happy couple enjoying an romantic dinner. Note how no one like the yellow corn seeds


And Francesco the latest addition to the aviary. This guy was saved and treated but he can not fly for unknown reasons. he is one charming man as we can see from the pictures he convinced some feral pigeons to come sit close to the aviary and groom some feathers along already. Sadly he does not get along with Piggi and he is separated for now, perhaps some extra ladies in the aviary in the future will distract them from having a fight.

[amyable]

Oh Boo looks so calm and content. I think it's hilarious that she's sitting on Kinder Surprise eggs. She would be surprised if she could see what was inside them !

Has she got a bit tamer now? she was such a grunter when she was here.

Francesco knows how to attract some attention. Hope he finds a nice lady soon and maybe then he'll be a bit friendlier to poor Piggi.

Great pictures again.

Janet

[chriss80]

Hi Janet,

Boo has gotten a bit tamer but still grunts lot. She comes and eats peanuts from my hand sometimes but she is a very cautioned bird. When I sit in the aviary and chat to Piggis she comes out to see what is the fuss all about, she is so curious and funny the way she looks up with great care.

When I take her out in the garden I really got to have my eyes on her, she can jump her way up and climb to high placed in the garden and I am afraid she is going to get over the fence or something, she can be really smart at times so I had to move some things away just in case.

Just got to say that Francesco is the oddest male I have ever, he dose not display that much as other male pigeons tend do. Otherwise he is very happy preening in the sun and seeing other birds. I think he is just a very young bird still.

[chriss80]

I just picked up a new bird off the streets, was sitting in the middle of the road looking very confuse, I think it just got hit by a car. I went out to pick it up but ran into someone garden, we called this person at the door and a very nice girl let us in the garden to catch the bird. We catch the bird brought it home. Is a very alert bird and ate well, most certainly a racer with number stamped on the wing and legs number banned, has a hurt wing and ca not fly but on the positive side I do not feel any broken bones. Monday I am taking the bird to the vet. This gorgeous racer will have to join my aviary flock if it does not gets well. I hope is a girl as is room in my aviary. I don’t know what to do if is another boy though. As far as I understand they race the males

I talked to someone here and I am also adopting a girl for Francesco, can’t wait

[John_D]

Have you taken a racing pigeon to this vet before? I only ask because I know of a vet down this way who would not deal with one until the owner had been contacted and asked what he wished the vet to do with the bird. I don't think it was a good outcome.

John

[chriss80]

Hi John thank you for telling me this I am calling the owner tomorrow and see what is what, one of those thing that has to be done I guess.

[chriss80]

I had one hell of a day today at vet. The vet had an strange accent I have an strange accent and I don’t think our accents got along. We wore both from different Latino countries, I think we would have had more success in understand echo hers if we both spoke in our own languages rather then English. So anyway he was trying to convince me to leave the bird over night there and I did not wanted, from what I gather he wanted it put to sleep. I eventually managed to explain I keep disable pigeons and I am not having this bird put to sleep.

Now the diagnosis is that this bird has a broken wing and it will never fly again and that is for sure.
I was given some Baytril to treat the racer for 10 days now.

The joint of the wing has gotten inflamated a bit from Saturday until today Monday. When I first found the bird the wound looked new so I assume now is just his wing reacting to the trauma of the accident. Hopefully it will go away quick.


wildlife-rescue is the person I offered to adopt a bird or 2 from for Francesco. For those who do not know there was a post about rehoming disable pigeons for adoption because they wore too over crowded. I just received an email tonight with great news that a place in Sutton has offered to take all the disable ones both now and the future from there. This made my entire day happy.

At the moment I am still confused on weather my new rescue the racer is a male of female. Or how will he get along with my birds in the aviary. Or if I need any females and how many to keep all my pigeons happy in the aviary. I just have to wait and see.

Pigeons stuff are complicated.

On a really positive side my husband just got his PHD, that is very good news as he studied for years very hard for it. Also he wants another job a better one, and that means we will have to move also. That is a great thing as we can actually find a place where we do not have neighbours living in such close proximity to us that can be bothered by pigeons. We both desire to keep more pigeons and extend out flock, especially with unrealisable ones.

[John_D]

It's great that you managed to keep this poor ol' racer !

And congratulations to your other half on his achievement

I think our ex-racers are lovely birds - those we have settled right into retirement from racing very quickly. Most of them are very good tempered, too.

John

[chriss80]

Some updated from the aviary:

Weather has cooled off finally so I have been locking Piggi and Boo in the shed for a couple of hours ( they would of sat there anyway on the eggs and him watching over) daily to allow Francesco out of his cage in the aviary and what a surprise I had: Francesco can fly, and he is pretty good at it, very gracious and precise in moving around perches, I think he has spend time watching Piggi doing that. I know he exercised his wings daily in the cage but you should see him going up in the air 2 meters high in the aviary just like a pro.
Sadly I am not entirely sure about Francesco’s wing, I think I caught a glimpse of the wing being a bit droopy on a couple occasions.
He is fling around a lot and exercising his wings a lot.
I am thinking that Francesco might of not had muscles developed for flying, as the vet said the wing was already healed before we found him from whatever injury he sustained and lived on the ground for a long time in the city.

Piggi is big, strong and mean, poor Francesco even though he has put on weigh he is just a tiny framed bird, short wings, legs, face. Piggi intimidates Francesco a lot, lucky they are separated. Every time poor Francesco makes a move Piggi is there war dancing or and trying to attach trough the bars. I see Piggi perched on top of Francesco’s cage looking at him like an eagle, waiting to make a move.

I can’t believe how bad Piggi can be, but also smart and cute in the same time lol but so is Francesco, my husband is very much attached to our new Francesco .

The racer situation is the same, the antibiotic treatment goes on and hope it will soon show results. I must say what an well educated bid this is: he does not go trough seeds eating only the nice fat ones, this bird eats in equal measure all his seeds away. I think John D is soo right. But the question is, will our racer catch some bad manners from Piggi and Boo on the long run ???? Those 2 all they know is peanuts, hemps seeds and sunflower seeds to eat. I used to put some vegetables around and protein meat but since no one ever wanted them I gave up lol

[chriss80]

Long time have not been here but have been busy . I have been having some pigeons patients with canker that needed some serious fatten up after they have gone better.

My lovely little darling Francesco and the Racer, have both turned out to be males. Now that would not be so bad but they coo every day all day in the aviary, oh and in the night too which will cause trouble on the long run with the neighbours. Now I don’t want to point fingers but Francesco is one big trouble maker, he even starts cooing when he hears my neighbours dog. Oh yes and the dog does bark in the night time too, has a week bladder and necessitates night time walks outside the house. That dog is probably of such a pure breed of dog that probably all his type of dogs are closed related cousins if you know what I mean.

Here you can see Francesco right and Piggi left in a forced embrace lol.


This is the racer, this guy likes to fallow people around the house, is just a curious pigeon. Because he can not fly he can go for garden walks.


With Francesco has been an attempt of realising him but he came straight back to the aviary. I am honestly glad to see he is not unhappy in the aviary. His wing is not in a perfect condition to fly. If he tyards himself out flying he starts having a droopy wing. It took us a while to realise that.

Francesco and The Racer shared half of the aviary for a short time, that is until Francesco pecked the Racer’s eye. The racer is well but poor little guy had to be separated. Francesco can fly up at its own convenience and hides high up on the perches when the Racer stands no chance and has no ware to hide because he can not fly.

Boo and Piggi will attack anyone and refuse to make peace with any pigeon.
At the moment I am spot cleaning the spare room in the house where the pigeons with canker have been so one or 2 of them can have loads of space in there to go nuts as much as they want to.

I defiantly need some females. I just don’t know what the coo’s situation will be there. Piggi and Boo all alone in the aviary they never made any noise, just nice pigeons taking turns sitting on the eggs ( or should I say Kinder fake eggs shhhhh I don‘t think they ever noticed. Seriously those Kinder plastic eggs look nothing like pigeon eggs haha).


The racer has fatten up a lot and I must acknowledge his good eating habits. This guy does not like peanuts, OMG a pigeon who does not care for peanuts!!! In fact the lovely racer has good balanced meals without eating the nice seeds first and leaving out the boring ones. He will just eat a good healthy selection of everything. Lets hope Piiggi and Boo don’t give him any ideas on the long run.

I would of expected Francesco to fatten up a lot too but it seems to keep it’s figure, is not like he is skinny. Just in case I have dewormed him with Avicas thought I think I will be looking for another wormer out there for tapeworm especially.

[Feefo]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the update. You have all my sympathy with the cooing, my toes curl during the summer when I hear the aviary come awake at daybreak...but the real problem here is the collared dove, Jack...he makes a louder noise than all the pigeons put together and he is sooo persistent: United!!!!! UNITED! UNITED!

[chriss80]

Hi Cynthia

LOL such a tiny bird is making so much noise in unbelievable. I would surely not expect that from a dove!

At the moment everyone goes inside the house at night and sleep in a box. When I had Piggi and Tipsey sharing each a half the aviary, there was never an issue with the cooing. Piggi never cooed in his life in the aviary at night but it does it now, I think this guys teach one another stuff and contemplate up to no good.

These guys coo mostly at sunset and sunrise. When the cats come in the middle of the night in the garden they trigger the automatic light to come on and the pigeons will coo at the cat. Now I would expect this from Piggi as he perhaps lost his touch with his wildness but Francesco and the Racer, come on!

[Feefo]

If I have to shine a torch into the shed after dark my pigeons immediately start to coo...they must have an internal switch that is activated by any kind of light.

[amyable]

Hi Christina,

I've just been catching up with all your news. I must have missed a couple of threads a while back. ( I had started an email message to you a couple of days ago but hadn't finished it yet, so you've answered a lot of my questions).

I was wondering if you'd had any females from the rescue place but can see you've had your hands full. I'm pleased Francesco is doing so well now. No name for the racer yet then?

I cringe some days when I can hear Poly and Bonnie cooing down the garden. They live right next to my neighbour's fence and as we're not supposed to keep birds, I do worry in case she hears them and cottons on as to why I spend so much time in my potting shed. If she can see my garden she'd know I'm not doing a lot of gardening!!!

So these two are 'keepers' then? Maybe a hen might quieten them down although even Roly and Snowy, (hens), still make cooing sounds when trying to get Poly's attention.

They've been a bit quieter this last week as I discovered to my horror two Oops babies, and they've stayed away from the nest area since these hatched. I thought I'd been so careful swapping eggs for dummies. Seems Poly and Bandy carried on and laid two eggs while the dummies were still in the nest. I didn't find the babies until they were about 5 days old, they're now about 10 days.
So beware!!

I'll post some pictures in a new album soon. I think they're going look quite interesting as parents are a homer and a roller.

Keep an eye on your Kinders !!!!!!!!!

Janet

ps. I love that picture of Piggi and Francesco,, Piggi looks very threatening !